


Where Our Daemons Hide

by justyrae



Category: One Direction (Band)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Daemons, Kissing, M/M, The X Factor Era
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-02-20
Updated: 2015-02-20
Packaged: 2018-03-13 23:28:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3400244
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/justyrae/pseuds/justyrae
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Being put in a group for the X-Factor is one thing, but when each boy has a daemon of their own, well, that just makes things even more interesting.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Where Our Daemons Hide

**Author's Note:**

  * For [hostagesfic](https://archiveofourown.org/users/hostagesfic/gifts).



> for the prompt: Daemon!au, whether it's focused on the boys and their daemons first bonding on TXF, or current curtain fic where they're all settled and comfortable together. (Shippy)
> 
> BIG THANKS TO THE [WIKI ARTICLE](http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/D%C3%A6mon_%28His_Dark_Materials%29) ON DAEMONS FROM HIS DARK MATERIALS. as a pinch-hitter, it truly saved me.
> 
> I feel like I should mention that this is the first time I've written an X-Factor era fic, so I probably took quite a few liberties with it. apologies if anything's glaringly wrong, I avoided this era for a reason 'til now.
> 
> also special thanks to J and T for their wonderful beta skills, and an extra-special thank you to A who held my hand throughout this whole fic and was always there for me to bounce ideas off of. love you!
> 
> title from 'Demons' by Imagine Dragons (sort of...)

**Niall & Patsy**

Niall's head was spinning. It had been spinning from the moment Simon put him in a group with four other lads and it hadn't stopped since. Not even after he'd left the stadium with his daemon at his side along with his mum and dad.

He couldn't believe his luck, and it was all he could talk about. His mum and dad went along with it as best he could, but he knew deep down they were worried sick about the whole thing. Even their daemons were treating Patsy, his own, with even more care than usual.

"I'll be fine," he assured his mum before he was set to head to Harry's stepdad's bungalow. "It'll be brilliant, you'll see."

"Oh, I know," his mum replied as she ran her fingers through his hair, taking deep breaths to keep her tears at bay. "I'll just worry about you."

"You don't have to," Niall insisted, "Patsy will protect me. She's never let anything bad happen to me!"

"You haven't done anything to warrant protecting," Patsy added as she nosed at Niall's hand. Niall smiled down at her, scooping the small canine daemon up into his arms in a flash and burying his face against her head. Her fur, which was rather long and tan much like a Cocker Spaniel, had grown steadily curlier over the years so it had a habit of tickling Niall's nose and making him sneeze, but that never stopped him.

"We'll be fine, Mum." Niall turned back to her with a smile. "Promise."

It wasn't until later, when they were on the train and Patsy had her head pillowed in Niall's lap and he was gently petting her, that she brought the subject up again.

"You shouldn't make promises you don't know if you can keep."

"Patsy," Niall said with a sigh. "Don't go guilt tripping me already, alright?"

"Just saying," she said before she yawned, wiggling around on her seat until she laid flat on her back in a demand for a belly rub. "We don't know these boys. Or their daemons."

"We know Liam," Niall reminded her, "and Bruce, too. You liked them."

"Oh, right," Patsy replied, "the others, though. Total strangers."

"I thought you said you chatted with them," Niall said as he bent down and ruffled up her fur. "Dirty little liar, you are."

"Had to say something to calm you down, didn't I?" Patsy nipped at Niall's fingers.

"You've been spending too much time with mum's daemon."

Patsy growled a little, then huffed as she rolled back onto her stomach.

"He worries. They all do." She huffed again. "Pains in the arse, really. M'sure it'll be fine."

"That's the spirit," Niall said as he ruffled her fur again. "It'll be brilliant."

Niall was saying the words aloud to convince himself just as much as Patsy. Truth be told, underneath the excitement, Niall was scared out of his mind.

He and Patsy had never been away from home before, had barely left Mullingar before all this X-Factor nonsense. And now Niall had _made_ it; already survived boot camp and was put in a proper group with four other lads! That had to count for something, didn't it?

"Brilliant," he repeated under his breath. Patsy shuffled a bit under his hand, but didn't say anything. At the very least, Niall had her. No matter what, they'd be there for each other.

*

As brilliant as Niall had expected it to be, he had to admit that when all the lads had finally gathered at the bungalow it was… _awkward_. They were all just standing around with their daemons at their sides, nervously glancing at each other and each one seemed at a loss as to what to say.

Niall looked down at Patsy, who stared back up at him with her wide brown eyes. If she could shrug, Niall suspected that's what she'd be doing at a time like this.

"This shouldn't be weird, should it?" He piped up finally, catching everyone's attention at once. That made him even more nervous, to suddenly have nine pairs of eyes on him, but he steeled his resolve and forced his voice to work.

Having Patsy lean against his leg definitely helped calm his nerves.

"T-This is Patsy," he said as he pointed down at her. "She's my best friend."

"Obviously," Louis (Niall struggled to remember his name at first, but he quickly remembered the overly energetic boy from boot camp and found a strange sort of comfort in his taunting tone) said with a bit of a scoff, crossing his arms as everyone looked at him. His long-haired, tawny-colored feline daemon (Niall was torn between whether it looked more like an oversized cat or a small lion) was sitting next to his feet, its tail twitching rapidly as it kept a close eye on the other daemons. "We've all got daemons, that's not new."

"Lay off," Liam said, coming to Niall's rescue. His small ursine daemon had been hiding behind his legs this whole time, but peeked around his ankle when Liam spoke up. "We've got to get to know each other if we're going to be in a band."

Niall smiled at Liam and then down at his daemon, who made eye contact with Niall for about a second before it was back to hiding its face in Liam's jeans. He was just as shy as Niall remembered, and his short black and white fur always seemed to be standing on end. A few times at boot camp Niall had been tempted to try and flatten it down, to ease the nerves it was feeling, but Niall had been taught (just like everyone else) that for a human to touch someone else's daemon was absolutely not allowed. It was a pity, honestly, because Niall had been tempted to cuddle the baby panda-like daemon from day one - probably because Liam spent most of his time doing just that.

Louis bristled at being interrupted, and Niall could've sworn he heard Louis' daemon hiss. He shared a nervous look with Patsy before someone else broke the tense silence.

"This is Bridget," Harry said brightly, holding out his own feline daemon in front of him for a moment before pulling it back into the cradle of his arms. "She's lovely."

"Very… fluffy," Niall commented. Patsy made a noise that sounded too much like an amused snort for Niall's liking, and he mumbled _shut up_ to her as quietly as he could. It wasn't his fault that Bridget reminded him very much of the female cat Marie from the Aristocats, but that might've had a lot to do with the bright pink bow around her neck.

"Thanks," Harry said, beaming as he stroked Bridget's white fur. "She loves when I pet her."

"Harry," she chastised, but she sounded so content that it was hardly a reprimand at all.

"Mine's called Ravan," Zayn spoke up softly, keeping his eyes mostly downcast. His feline daemon lifted its head and blinked a few times before settling back down and closing its eyes again. Niall hadn't seen very many daemons that were as large as Zayn's, and had certainly never seen one that looked so much like a panther. "She usually spends most of the day napping, to be honest."

"Not anymore," Louis said with a wicked smile, moving close enough to Zayn to nudge him with his elbow. Zayn stumbled a bit from the force of Louis' elbow, but gave Louis a hesitant smile in return. Louis' daemon trotted over to Ravan and used its paw to poke at her head, darting back when Ravan swiped her own in its direction. She licked her own paw before smoothing the spot where Louis' daemon had touched her sleek black fur.

"Feisty," it said, and Niall's eyes widened at the deep sound.

"Is--" Niall swallowed harshly, not quite sure how to handle this news. "Is yours a boy?" He turned to look at Liam, who was already turning red.

"Yeah," Louis interjected before Niall could say anything more, already sounding defensive. "He is. This is Donny."

"What're you looking at?" Donny said before he hissed at Liam's daemon, who had poked his head out from around Liam's ankles again. He quickly buried his head against Liam's jeans and let out a whine. Liam got down on his knees and comforted him, glaring at Louis.

"What'd he do that for?"

"What? Donny didn't do anything."

"He's a menace," Liam said as he stood back up, clutching his daemon closely as he shook. "Keep him away from Bruce. He's got no right to treat him that way."

" _Bruce_?" Louis repeated in disbelief. "You've got a male daemon as well?"

"So what if I have?" Liam frowned. "You've got one."

"Yeah, well," Louis said with a laugh, "y'know what they say about same sex daemons…"

"Why don't we get in the pool?" Harry interrupted, putting Bridget down before rubbing his hands together. "I think that sounds like a grand idea."

"Yeah," Niall said quickly, hoping that a change of scenery would diffuse the tension. Zayn nodded along too, nudging Ravan with his foot to wake her up.

Liam didn't move until Louis had already left the room, having slung his arm around Harry's shoulders and boasting loudly at how good he was at cannonballs. Donny and Bridget were jumping all over each other as they followed with Zayn and Ravan close behind.

"Is he okay?" Niall asked softly, putting a gentle hand on Liam's shoulder.

"Yeah," Liam said with a sniffle. "Just scared, is all."

"Patsy'll look after him, won't you?"

"Absolutely," she replied. "I won't let that mangy cat get you."

"Thanks," Bruce said as he turned in Liam's arms and looked down at Patsy. "Dunno why he hissed at me like that when I didn't do nothing."

"Reckon he's just scared," Patsy assured him. "Bark worse than bite, and all that."

"Better be," Liam said as he gently put Bruce down onto the floor next to Patsy. "Otherwise we're going to have some problems."

"M'sure it's just first day nerves," Niall insisted, clapping Liam's shoulder. "Now c'mon, there's a pool with our names on it!"

**Harry & Bridget**

Harry didn't really consider himself _selfish_ , per se. Even if he did have younger child syndrome at times, he didn't go around demanding everything to be done his way. Sometimes he just had slightly selfish motives behind his actions.

If suggesting that all the boys go swimming was selfish, then yeah, Harry was being selfish.

Really, he just wanted to see all the boys without their shirts on. For bonding purposes, obviously.

As he was changing into his swim trunks, Bridget was giving him the sort of look that could be described as a knowing smirk if she were a human but given she was a feline daemon, well, it wasn't quite the same. Still, Harry flushed and ducked his head to avoid her eyes.

"Shut up," he mumbled.

"Didn't say anything," she said as she started licking her paw. "Knew you'd get their trousers off one way or the other."

"Excuse me?" Harry said in an incredulous tone, tossing his shirt at her and laughing when she quickly darted out of its way. "Don't think I didn't see you and Donny."

Bridget shivered, then quickly went back to cleaning her paw. "Dunno what you're talking about."

"Liar." Harry snickered under his breath before he finished pulling up his trunks. He sat down on the bed and Bridget immediately jumped up and cuddled up next to him, nuzzling her head against his thigh. "S'weird, innit?"

"What?"

"Never met anyone with a same sex daemon before," Harry mumbled as he began petting Bridget. "Now we've got _two_."

"Luck of the draw," Bridget replied.

"That's for sure," Harry said with another soft laugh. Bridget sat up on her hind legs and looked at Harry in a judgmental sort of way that she'd mastered over the years. "What?"

"You're planning something, aren't you?"

"I am not," Harry said, but his voice cracked and his cheeks turned a deep red. "Shut up."

Bridget let out a satisfied purr as she jumped off of the bed and trotted over to the door, swishing her tail back and forth as she waited for Harry to open it. She led the way outside, dodging between the legs of the other lads as they all shuffled down the hallway with their own daemons. Donny was at her heels while the other three didn't seem nearly as eager to get outside.

True to his word, Louis was the first to jump into the pool shouting as he went. Harry and Niall were quick to follow, but Zayn hung back and Liam hesitated as well. When Harry resurfaced, he called out to them.

"Aren't you coming?"

Zayn and Liam looked at each other for a moment before they slowly made their way to the edge of the pool. Bruce kept himself hidden behind Liam as he walked, while Ravan followed Zayn at her own leisurely pace.

"Not much for swimming," Zayn murmured as he sat down on the edge, only allowing his feet to dip into the water. Harry frowned as he swam over to the pair, looking hopefully at Liam as he sat down next to Zayn.

"I don't trust Louis not to, like, pull my trunks down or summat," Liam said as he nodded his head towards the other end of the pool. Harry looked over his shoulder to see Louis and Niall play fighting, and it seemed like Louis already had the upper hand.

"M'sure he wouldn't," Harry insisted, though he wasn't _quite_ sure.

"We'll be alright here," Liam said as he put his arm around Bruce, who was shaking as he carefully kept his eyes on Donny. He and Bridget were pouncing on each other again while Patsy ran circles around them. Ravan was already lying down behind Zayn, curled up with her eyes closed.

"As long as you're sure," Harry said, squeezing Liam's knee gently with his wet hand before he swam back to the other side of the pool.

Louis greeted him with a shout and a bright smile, launching himself off of Niall and succeeding in dragging Harry underwater. Harry sputtered as he came up again, pushing his wet curls out of his eyes as Niall's laughter echoed in his ears.

"Louis," he groaned, splashing him when he rose out of the water, "what'd you do that for?"

"Just wanted to," Louis replied, flashing him another dazzling smile. Harry felt a warmth spread throughout his body and he turned away from Louis, catching Bridget's eye as she dodged Donny again and hid behind Patsy.

Harry followed suit and swam over to Niall, grabbing onto the pool's edge as Louis busied himself with diving back underwater.

"Did you know about Liam?" Harry asked quietly, waiting to pose the question until Louis was submerged.

"About his daemon?" Harry nodded. "Yeah, I mean, we roomed together at boot camp."

"I've never met someone with--"

"Me neither," Niall interrupted, stealing a glance at Liam and then at Louis as he popped out of the water again. "Think what Louis said is true, though?"

"Dunno," Harry said as he nervously chewed on his bottom lip. "Would it be so bad, though? If it were?"

"No," Niall answered quickly, "I didn't mean--"

"It’s okay," Harry said with a laugh. "I didn't think you did."

"M'just saying," Niall said as he ducked his head, flicking the water around with his fingers to distract Harry from the way his cheeks were turning red. "I don't care, either way. Doesn't bother me."

"Me neither," Harry replied. "In fact…" he trailed off with another laugh, biting his lip again as he stole another glance at both Louis and Liam. "Might even be better this way."

"Better what way?" Louis asked loudly, whipping his head around and spraying the two of them with water. The excess made it so far as to reach where their daemons were, and Donny hissed again. Louis just grinned at him.

"That...um…" Harry flushed under Louis' gaze, unsure of how to admit to him that they'd been discussing his sexuality, for all intents and purposes, behind his back.

"If you and Liam are both, y'know," Niall added, and Harry was slightly relieved to hear that Niall's tone gave away that he was also feeling hesitant under Louis' scrutiny.

"Just because we've both got male daemons doesn't mean we're the same," Louis snapped.

"No, I didn't mean--" Harry sputtered, his mind going off with a hundred and one excuses but when Louis grinned again, it all stopped.

"M'kidding, Harold. Honestly, don't get your knickers in a twist."

Louis squeezed in between the two of them, pressing his back against the wall as he wrapped his arms around both of their shoulders. Harry stared at Louis and then at Niall, nearly positive that this was all a dream. He'd had one or two vaguely similar dreams, but if it was really happening then Harry wanted to remember every minute of it.

"So you've been thinking about it, eh?" Louis smirked. "You too, Nialler?" Niall blushed wildly and ducked his head away from Louis. "S'alright, I don't care."

"What d'you mean, you don't care?" Harry asked, furrowing his brow in confusion.

"I mean, you're not the first boys with girl daemons to be," he paused to let out a low chuckle, " _interested_."

"I'd hardly say I'm--" Niall turned his head back around just in time for Louis to interrupt him by pressing his lips against Niall's. He squeaked against Louis' lips but didn't pull away. Louis gave him a wicked smile when he pulled back, pecking his lips once more before he spoke again.

"Not so bad, is it?"

"No," Niall squeaked out, his whole body flushing as Louis all but leered at him. Harry whimpered softly, immediately covering his mouth when Niall and Louis looked at him as the sound had been entirely involuntary. He hadn't _meant_ to whimper like that, he just wanted a bit of attention as well.

"Feeling left out, Harold?" Louis teased, curling his arm around Harry's neck to pinch at his cheek. When Harry raised his hand to bat Louis' away, Louis used it as a distraction to catch Harry off guard and kiss him as well.

Harry heard Niall clear his throat after what was probably a few awkward seconds, particularly when Harry latched onto Louis. He couldn't help it though, kissing Louis was like nothing he'd ever experienced before. When Louis finally pulled back from Harry, he felt a bit jealous when Louis let out a breathless laugh and pulled Niall closer against his side.

"Guess you don't need a male daemon to be like me," Louis murmured.

Harry tucked himself against Louis' other side, but found himself staring hopefully at Niall. He hadn't pushed Louis off and gotten out of the pool, so maybe Niall would be alright with Harry kissing him as well. Now that Harry'd had a taste of what kissing a boy was like, he wanted more.

"Niall?" he whispered softly, and when Niall looked at him Harry felt a shiver go through his body. "C'mere?"

Louis chuckled knowingly as Niall carefully slipped out of his grip and swam over to Harry's other side, still looking at him with confusion as though he had no idea what Harry was asking for. Deep down, Harry hoped that he did and that Niall wanted this just as much as he did.

Harry called it a win as soon as he put his hands on either side of Niall's face and he didn't immediately jerk away. Harry smiled at Niall before leaning closer and bringing their lips together. Niall made a soft noise against Harry's lips and wrapped his hands around Harry's wrists but made no effort to break the two of them apart.

"I've created a monster," Louis joked after Harry pulled away from Niall.

"Think he was already here," Niall added, the flush on his cheeks darkening as Harry looked at him.

**Liam & Bruce**

"Do you not like pools?" Liam asked quietly once Harry had left them. Zayn shrugged haphazardly as he turned his torso so he could start running his fingers through Ravan's fur. Liam kept his arm around Bruce, gently petting him to keep him calm.

"Can't swim," Zayn mumbled. "Feel a bit stupid, really."

"You're not stupid," Liam replied. "Dunno why anyone has a pool in England, really."

Zayn cracked a smile and laughed softly. "S'pose you're right." He looked up at Liam, then peered around him at Bruce. "Is he alright?"

"Yeah," Liam replied as he gently pulled Bruce onto his lap. He squirmed a bit, messing about until he could press his face against Liam's stomach.

"Don't like bullies," Bruce grumbled.

"Me neither," Zayn replied kindly.

"He's not a bully," Ravan said quietly, her voice dark, smooth, and deep but still feminine. "He's a bit of a twat, for sure, but--"

"Why'd he let his daemon do that if he's not a bully?" Liam interrupted.

"He's scared, innit?" Ravan continued, shifting so she could wrap herself around Zayn. "Doesn't know how to deal with another like him, so he lashes out."

"That's stupid," Liam mumbled.

"Makes sense, though." Zayn shrugged. "Back anyone into a corner and they'll lash out, like."

"He's not in a corner," Liam said, feeling confused by Zayn's comment. "Or, if he is, aren't we all, then?"

"S'pose so," Zayn sighed, smiling fondly at Ravan as she nudged his hand with her head. "S'pose we'll all be under a magnifying glass soon."

"It'll be alright, right?" Liam asked, cuddling Bruce a bit closer. "We'll all have each other, yeah?"

"Yeah, 'course." Zayn smiled at Liam. "Reckon there's no getting rid of any of us now."

Liam laughed, but it quickly disappeared as he glanced over to the other side of the pool and saw Louis kissing Niall. Out of the corner of his eye, he could see Zayn giving him a weird look and he _knew_ he should look away but...he just couldn't.

"Liam?" Zayn asked, gently poking his thigh. "What're you-- oh."

"Yeah," Liam answered breathlessly once Louis and Niall had separated. "Oh."

"Does that, um," Zayn cleared his throat awkwardly as he dropped his eyes down to the ground, "does that, like, bother you?"

"What?" Liam said quickly, turning his head back to Zayn. "No! Of-Of course not."

"I just-- y'know, 'cause you've got a," Zayn gestured to Bruce, "I wasn't sure if, like-- _fuck_ ," Zayn muttered. "I'm being a twat, aren't I?"

"No, no, Zayn, you're not," Liam insisted. "It's just…" Liam spared another look at the other side of the pool and saw Harry and Louis now kissing and he immediately shut his eyes. "Everyone just assumed, y'know?”

"And you're not?"

"Well," Liam blushed. "Dunno, really. S'kind of hard to figure things out for yourself when everyone's assuming you already are."

"I think it's still up to you," Zayn replied. "Male daemon or not, it's still...not, like, your _choice_ , but--"

"Yeah," Liam interrupted, "no, I get it. S'just hard, is all."

Zayn gave him a sympathetic smile and gently put his hand on Liam's knee. Liam swallowed harshly and hugged Bruce a bit closer to him. He'd never had someone actually _listen_ to him like this before.

His parents and sisters had tried, really they had, but this was just different. It was comforting for Liam to know he had at least one person in his life (besides Bruce, of course) that wasn't going to automatically assume they knew everything about him based on this one thing.

Liam slowly put his hand over Zayn's and squeezed it, feeling some of the weight on his shoulders lift when Zayn smiled at him.

*

The bungalow was absolutely silent when Liam woke up the next morning. The rest of the boys were still asleep, having passed out in various states of dress all across the living room floor. Liam carefully got up from the couch and stepped over the mess of limbs as he made his way towards the kitchen with Bruce trailing close behind.

"S'pose I'll make some tea," he murmured softly, bending down to pick Bruce up so he could sit on the counter. Normally he'd never let his daemon sit on the counter in someone else's home, but Bridget crawled all over everything all the time so Liam hoped it would be okay.

"Can I have a biscuit?" Bruce asked.

"A biscuit?" Liam repeated incredulously. "For breakfast?"

Bruce nodded his head then rolled over onto his back, showing Liam his belly. He'd been doing it for years, and Liam could never resist.

"Oh, alright," Liam mumbled, poking Bruce in the belly before grabbing the tin of biscuits. "But only one, yeah?"

Bruce nodded eagerly, rolling back onto his front and sitting up so he could take the biscuit from Liam when he offered. He began nibbling it immediately, making soft, happy noises as he munched.

"Trying to fatten him up?"

Both Liam and Bruce jumped at the sound of Harry's voice, and Bruce quickly scrambled across the counter to hide under Liam's arm. Harry frowned as he gently put Bridget on the counter as well.

"You scared us," Liam said as he comforted Bruce.

"Didn't mean to," Harry said, still frowning. "Sorry, Bruce."

Bridget slowly walked across the counter towards Liam and Bruce, starting to purr as she got closer. Bruce pulled his head away from where it was tucked against Liam's arm and looked at her, hesitantly reaching out his hand to share a bit of his biscuit.

"Thank you," she said as she continued to purr, snapping up the bit of biscuit in her mouth before she nuzzled her head against Bruce's.

"See?" Harry said, his frown disappearing as it was replaced with a smile. "No harm done."

"Nah," Liam replied with a soft smile. "I was going to make some tea, if you want?"

"Sounds lovely," Harry replied. "D'you know where the kettle is?"

Liam flushed. "I would've found it eventually."

Harry laughed, ducking down to the cabinet beneath the counter and pulling the kettle from it. He walked to the other side of Liam and began setting it up, gently knocking his hip against Liam's.

Liam kept quiet as Harry fiddled with the kettle, silently staring at him as he tried to figure Harry out in his head. He'd never met anyone like Harry in Wolverhampton, he wasn't sure if there was anyone in the world who was quite like Harry.

It was amazing, Liam thought, how Harry was the youngest of the group but managed to fool everyone into thinking he wasn't. Liam frowned at himself for the thought, because _fool_ wasn't the right word; Harry wasn't trying to trick anyone into thinking he was someone he wasn't, he's just being himself.

"Liam?" Harry asked, snapping Liam out of his thoughts and making him blush again.

"Y-Yeah?"

"Where'd you go?" he asked with a soft laugh. "I asked you what kind of tea you wanted and you stared at me for like five minutes."

"Sorry," Liam mumbled sheepishly. "M'not picky, whatever you're having is fine."

Harry smiled, but instead of moving to get tea he stepped closer to Liam. He reached out for Liam's hand, smiling more when Liam didn't pull away. Liam felt his heart start beating faster and he thought back to the day before and what he'd seen at the pool.

"Harry," he said softly, his voice cracking slightly and making him even more embarrassed.

"It's okay," Harry whispered. "We don't have to--"

"It's not that," Liam said quickly, "I just, I've never--"

"Never?" Harry asked, frowning slightly.

"Nobody wants to kiss the weird kid with a boy daemon when he gets picked on every day," Liam mumbled miserably, dropping his eyes to the ground.

"I do," Harry said as he squeezed Liam's hand.

"You don't have to," Liam started to say, but Harry apparently grew tired of Liam making excuses and kissed him anyway.

"Told you," Harry whispered against Liam's lips, "I want to."

Liam laughed softly before Harry kissed him again, pressing himself against Liam and holding him tightly. Liam shivered at the sensation, feeling braver as he wrapped his free arm around Harry's waist to keep him close.

They broke apart when the kettle started to whistle loudly. Harry pulled away from Liam to shut it off, giggling as he wiped at his mouth.

"Alright, then." Harry beamed before he turned his back to Liam to fish the tea out of another cupboard. Liam's ears perked up at the sound of giggles coming from his other side, and he turned to give an unimpressed look to Bruce and Bridget.

"Shut up," he mumbled.

"Didn't say anything," Bridget replied. She trotted over, flicking her tail against Liam's cheek as she passed. Bruce shuffled after her, but instead of following her to the other side of the counter he stuck by Liam's side.

"S'not so bad, is it?" Liam murmured softly.

"Nah," Bruce answered as he looked up at Liam. "Not so bad after all."

**Louis & Donny**

Louis knew full well that the reason they all went to Harry's bungalow in the first place was to bond as a band, but his definition of bonding seemed to be vastly different than everyone else's. Or, rather, just Liam's.

To say that they'd been at each other's throats all day wouldn't have been that much of an exaggeration, but the other lads were blowing it out of proportion.

It just, it wasn't Louis' _fault_. He'd never met anyone like him before, never met another person with a same sex daemon and he just didn't know how to _handle_ it.

He'd shut himself up in the bathroom the night before just to get a bit of space from the lads, just barely allowing Donny to follow him in before he locked the door. Louis just needed to breathe a little and to figure out what was causing his heart to pound so hard, for his skin to feel like it was on fire.

"Louis," Donny whispered softly as he jumped up onto Louis' lap, nuzzling his head against Louis' chin in the same way that had comforted him so many times before. "Calm down."

"Dunno how to do this," Louis mumbled with a self-deprecating laugh. "Never had-- Never been so--"

"I know," Donny answered, still rubbing his head against Louis' chin. "It's gonna be okay."

"Didn't think I'd ever meet someone like me," Louis laughed, "like _us_."

"There's no one like us," Donny grumbled.

"Right," Louis said as he wrapped his arms around Donny and pulled him close. "Why'd it have to be Liam?" he grumbled softly.

"You'd rather it be--"

"Any of the lads," Louis interrupted, "at least they all like me."

Donny hummed, kneading his paws against Louis' thighs as he shifted around in his lap.

"Could you imagine if they'd all been like us?" Louis asked softly, and Donny shivered. "I--"

"Tommo!" Niall's voice echoed through the door as he banged on the other side. "Didja fall in?!"

"Piss off!" Louis shouted back. "I'll be out when I'm good and ready!"

Niall let out a loud laugh but didn't bang on the door again. Louis looked down at Donny and sighed.

"Guess we'd better go, yeah?"

*

Louis didn't _mean_ to lose it on Liam. He'd been stuck in his own head all day, and Liam's incessant nagging that they talk about the _band_ and what they should _do_ was just wearing thin already.

It probably didn't help matters when Louis goaded Niall into playing footie in the backyard for an hour when they'd all planned to discuss proper band things, but Louis didn't want to do _boring_ things. The fact that both Harry and Zayn had gone outside to watch and accidentally left Liam all by himself, well, that was a complete accident.

"GOAL!" Louis hollered, running around their makeshift pitch with his arms over his head before he catapulted himself onto Zayn. He'd been cheering for Louis while Harry cheered for Niall, who flung himself onto the grass next to Harry.

"Get off me," Zayn grumbled, pushing Louis away with a grimace. "You're disgusting."

"M'not," Louis replied with a gasp, rolling himself back onto Zayn and pressing his face against Zayn's neck. "Zayn," he whined, "I won, give me a prize!"

"Oh god," Zayn groaned, "you're such a menace."

"I am _not_!" Louis pushed himself up so he was hovering over Zayn, and in a split second made the decision to lean down and press his lips against Zayn's. When he pulled away, not only was Zayn staring at him but so was Harry and Niall.

And then Louis heard Liam's voice.

"What's going on?"

"Just having a bit of fun," Louis replied in a snarky tone. "Not that you'd know what that's like, _Liam_."

"I-- But--" Liam sighed heavily. "We're supposed to be--"

"Yeah, well we decided to play footie instead," Louis interrupted, crossing his arms and sitting up so he was now straddling Zayn's waist. "What're you doing to do about it?"

The other three were absolutely silent as Louis and Liam stared each other down, even all of their daemons were watching with bated breath.

"What's your problem, Louis?" Liam asked.

"I haven't got one," Louis replied. "You're the one with a problem, clearly."

"I don't--" Liam groaned in frustration. "I'm just trying to--"

"To what?" Louis asked as he got to his feet and strode over to Liam. "Who made you the leader, hmm?"

"Nobody, I'm not-- I'm just--"

"C'mon, lads," Niall said gently as Harry got to his feet to put himself in-between Liam and Louis. "There's no need for--"

"No, Niall," Louis interrupted. "If Liam thinks he's got the right to boss us all around, then he should have a bloody good reason."

"He doesn't," Zayn added softly, "lay off, Lou."

"No, I won't!" Louis shouted.

"You _do_ have a problem with me!" Liam shouted back. "What'd I ever do to you?!"

In the midst of their arguing, none of the boys noticed that the daemons were reacting to the tension as well. Bruce was cowering as Donny hissed at him, his tail twitching as though he were about to pounce. Patsy and Ravan were watching closely, but were afraid to get involved unlike Bridget, who was trying to protect Bruce.

"C'mon, just calm down," Harry begged. "You don't have to--"

Harry was interrupted by screech followed by a terrified shout, and they all finally realized that their daemons were fighting. Bridget was still in-between Donny and Bruce, but barely.

"See what you've done?!" Liam shouted as he rushed over.

"Me? This is _your_ fault!" Louis yelled, distracting Liam as he went to pick Bruce up and get him away from Donny.

"Stop blaming me, I--"

But Liam stopped cold when Harry suddenly shouted, and Liam looked down at his hands to see that he'd accidentally picked up Bridget instead of Bruce. Liam nearly dropped her in his panic, but thankfully set her down before scooping Bruce into his arms and turning around to apologize profusely to Harry.

Zayn had already rushed to Harry's side, and as soon as Bridget was back on the ground she sprinted over to Harry's open arms. He was shaking, but looked relieved to have his daemon safely in his arms.

"I didn't mean to, I'm so--"

"Don't you know anything?!" Louis shouted.

"That's enough!" Niall yelled, taking all of them by surprise. "Zayn, take Harry inside, make sure he's alright."

Louis waited until Zayn, Harry, and their daemons were safely inside before he started grumbling about how this was clearly all Liam's fault. Liam stood stock-still and didn't say a word, but he didn't have to: the look on his face said it all.

"Just stop it, Louis!" Niall snapped. "Can't you see what you're doing to him?"

"What?" Louis snapped back, staring Niall down until he finally turned to look at Liam.

"I'm sorry," Liam choked out, trying so hard to keep his breathing steady despite the stream of tears flooding from his eyes. The sight was enough to make Louis' heart ache, but not enough to make him forget his anger. "I'm so, so sorry, I never meant to--"

"It's okay, Liam," Niall replied calmly. "We all know you didn't mean to."

Louis scoffed loudly, and Niall glared at him.

"What?"

"Don't be a dick, Lou." Niall exhaled sharply. "This is far more your fault than it is Liam's."

" _My_ fault?!" Louis shouted. He couldn't _believe_ what he was hearing. In his mind, Liam had started this whole thing, what with his stupid face and his stupid male daemon and stupid work ethic. The whole thing was just...stupid.

"Yeah, your fault!" Niall yelled back. "If you hadn't been shouting at Liam like that, none of this would've happened!"

"I wasn't--!" Louis tried to explain, if Niall would just _let him explain_ he could make them all understand why he wasn't the bad guy. He didn't want to be the bad guy, he really didn't.

"You were! Ever since we got here and you found out that Liam had a male daemon like you, you've been treating him like shit!" Niall was furious, and Louis' heart dropped into the pit of his stomach. He'd made Niall, an absolute ray of sunshine, angry. Never in a million years would Louis have thought it was possible for Niall to lose his shit on anyone, even after only knowing him for a few days.

"I'm sorry," Louis whispered. He stared firmly at the ground, half-hoping it would swallow him whole. "I didn't mean to."

"Well you did," Niall said, breathing heavily after all the shouting he'd done. "Now you've got to fix it. I'm going to check on Harry and Zayn."

He stomped over to the door, sliding it open and shouting over his shoulder, "and if I hear you two yelling, I'm coming back and kicking both your arses!" before disappearing inside.

Louis and Liam were silent for several minutes, apart from Bruce quietly sniffling against Liam's chest. Donny had curled up by Louis' feet, looking regretful.

"I don't know how to do this," Louis said, taking Liam by surprise.

"Do what?" Liam asked.

"Any of this," Louis said with a sigh, "apologize, make things better, just…" he shrugged, "I don't know how to be around you."

"Do you really hate me that much?" Liam asked, his voice thick like he was about to start crying again.

"I don't hate you."

"Yes, you do."

"No, I don't hate you!" Louis insisted. "I just, I don't know how to be around you, alright?! I never thought I'd meet someone with a male daemon and now we're in a bloody band together and people are going to just _assume_ things and when I don't know how to handle something I lash out and...and I'm _sorry_!"

Louis collapsed to the ground and started to cry, clutching desperately at Donny. Liam stood by awkwardly, sharing a worried look with Bruce before he slowly made his way to Louis and sat down next to him.

"I…" Liam started, pausing to take a deep breath before he continued, "I've never met anyone like us either, you know."

Louis lifted his head, breathing deeply as he tried to stop crying. He didn't say a word as his tears kept falling, but he wished Liam would just keep talking.

"I thought, maybe, we'd get along better because of it," Liam continued, "b-because we've got this in common, yeah? Nobody else knows what it's like, so they just make fun of you and call you names and--" Liam inhaled sharply and hugged Bruce closer.

"I'm sorry," Louis repeated in a croaky voice.

"It's okay," Liam said with a weak laugh, "I mean, it's not, but it is. Sort of."

Louis laughed weakly in return. "M'no better than the rest of 'em."

"You're scared," Liam said and Louis laughed again. He had no idea why Liam was defending his awful behavior. "Everyone does stupid things when they're scared."

"So now I'm stupid?" Liam's eyes widened.

"No, no! I didn't mean--"

"It's alright," Louis interrupted with another laugh, slightly stronger than before. "I'm taking the piss, Liam."

"Oh." Liam nodded. "Right. Of course."

"I'm sorry," Louis said again. "Really, I am. Guess m'just scared of, well, everything."

"Me too," Liam admitted softly. "But we've all got each other. That's what Zayn said, anyway. No getting rid of us now."

"Nah," Louis said, turning to Liam and giving him a fond smile, "you lot are certainly stuck with me."

**Zayn & Ravan**

Zayn pulled Harry through the house to the biggest bedroom, thinking to himself that when he was feeling scared and vulnerable nothing made him feel safer than being wrapped up under blankets in bed. Harry didn't say a word as Zayn tucked him and Bridget under the covers and laid down next to him with Ravan stretched out at the foot of the bed.

"You okay?" Zayn asked softly.

"Yeah," Harry replied, his voice somewhat shaky. "Just scared me, is all."

"Scared me too," Zayn replied. "I've never seen anyone touch someone else's daemon before."

"I didn't like it," Bridget said with a huff as she tucked her head under Harry's chin. "I don't like being manhandled."

"Did it hurt?" Zayn asked.

"Not like...bad?" Harry sighed. "I dunno, I can't explain it. It just felt like...wrong."

Zayn nodded, even though he really had no idea what Harry was talking about. He hoped he never would.

"But you're alright now, yeah? Both of you?"

"Yeah, think so." Harry smiled fondly at Bridget, who licked his chin. "All better."

"Good," Zayn said as he laid his head on Harry's shoulder. "I'd hate to have to kick Liam out of the band for that."

"It was an accident," Harry replied. "He didn't mean to."

"Yeah," Zayn sighed, "it was mostly Louis' fault anyway."

"Think he was jealous?" Harry asked. Zayn lifted his head and looked at him curiously.

"Who, Louis?"

"No, Liam."

"Why?" Zayn asked with a soft laugh. He wasn't sure what Harry was getting at, since he was fairly certain the squabble had to do with their daemons and not jealousy over...whatever.

"Because Louis was kissing you," Harry answered softly. "I can see why Liam would be," he continued as he gently stroked the side of Zayn's face, "I know I was."

"Jealous?" Zayn blushed. "You're mad."

"Am not," Harry replied with a smile. "You're well fit."

"Harry--"

Harry pushed himself up and pressed his lips against Zayn's, giggling softly when he dropped back down onto the bed a few seconds later.

"You little shit," Zayn mumbled fondly, "such a slag."

"Am not," Harry said as he tugged Zayn back down. "Just like kissing, is all."

"Mhmm," Zayn remarked in a sarcastic tone, laughing softly before he kissed Harry again.

They were still kissing when Niall came in a few minutes later; neither of them noticed until Niall cleared his throat loudly and Zayn rolled off of Harry and gave Niall a wide-eyed look of surprise.

"Came in here to make sure you were okay," Niall said with a smirk as he walked over to the bed and sat down on it, carefully avoiding sitting on Ravan, "looks like you're doing just fine, though."

"Zayn's an excellent nurse," Harry said, mirroring the smirk on Niall's face.

"Shut up," Zayn mumbled, burying his face in his hands. Niall cackled before he crawled up the bed and snuggled himself in-between the two of them. He pulled Zayn's hands away from his face and smiled when Zayn met his eye.

"Reckon I could go for a cuddle," Niall said as he laced his fingers with Zayn's while Harry curled up against Niall's back. "I did just yell at Louis and Liam, after all."

"Are they gonna be okay?" Zayn asked as he settled back down onto the bed and let Niall wrap his arms around him.

"Are _we_ gonna be okay?" Harry added, frowning against Niall's shoulder. "Don't want the band to be over before it's had a chance to even _be_."

"Shut up, the both of you." Niall shook his head. "As long as Louis and Liam sort themselves out, we're all gonna be fine."

Zayn pressed his lips against Niall's forehead and smiled when Niall hummed in contentment. He opened his eyes again and glanced down at the foot of the bed where all of their daemons were curled up; Ravan was stretched out again with Bridget and Patsy tucked against her back. He smiled at the sight and let out a soft chuckle.

"I think we're already fine," he murmured.

The three of them ended up falling asleep before Liam and Louis came back inside, but Zayn stirred when the pair crawled onto the bed to join them.

"Everything alright?" he asked Liam, who had taken up the empty space on his other side while Louis took the space next to Harry. Bruce and Donny cuddled up to the other daemons as well, and Zayn smiled when he saw the light blush on Liam's cheeks.

"Yeah," Liam mumbled as he laid his arm across Zayn to take Louis' hand where it was resting on Niall's stomach. Zayn glanced at Louis, whose cheeks were also the slightest bit pink and Zayn rolled his eyes.

"Slags, the lot of you," he mumbled as he tucked his head back down next to Niall's, "in a band of slags."

"Shh," Niall whispered softly, patting Zayn's face. He kept his eyes closed as he tipped his head up and kissed Zayn on the lips. "You're stuck with us."

**Author's Note:**

> [my tumblr](http://imlouisaf.tumblr.com)
> 
>  
> 
> if I'd had more time, I would've tried to expand this 'verse through the years (UAN, TMH, WWA, even OTRA) but alas, I couldn't. buuut, if it's all right with hostagesfic since this is technically their idea and all, I'd love to turn this into a series to do just that :)


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